Mumbai city news: The two leaders, who are known for frequently bad-mouthing each other, could face each other for the first time since Rane was expelled from Sena.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and senior Congress party leader Narayan Rane are likely to share a stage at a public function in Kudal, Sindhudurg district later this week. The two leaders, who are known for frequently bad-mouthing each other, could face each other for the first time since Rane was expelled from Sena in July 2005.

On June 23, Thackeray will perform the bhoomipujan of three packages – a 35.10km stretch between Vatul to Talgaon, a 38.70-km stretch between Sambhajinagar to Kalmath and a 44.17-km stretch between Kalmath and Zarap – which is part of the widening of the Mumbai-Goa highway, in presence of Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Harshal Pradhan, media advisor to Thackeray, confirmed that the Sena chief will be attending the function on Friday.

According to protocol, Rane, who is a member of legislative council and a local leader, could be invited to participate in the program.

Rane, who was expelled for questioning Thackeray’s ability to lead the party, later joined the Congress, taking a chunk of the party’s MLAs with him. Following that, Rane launched a vicious campaign against the Thackerays, and Thackeray too has been overtly critical of Rane.

The quadrupling of the highway is crucial to improve inter-state connectivity and to reduce the number of accidents on the existing two-lane highway. It will also improve connectivity to the Konkan district. The estimated cost of the quadrupling of the three packages is Rs3,487.58 crore.